“What Is Your Call as an Economic Being?”

Ross Baird of Village Capital reflects on an Atlanta gathering on Church as an Economic Being:

“Though religion and money aren’t usually what motivates 25 people into an engaging, insightful, and inspiring conversation on a Wednesday night, we gathered for a house party to discuss “Church as an Economic Being.” And it was clear upfront that everyone was supposed to play a starring role. Joy led off saying that our relationship with God, day to day, is most manifest in our relationship with others, and our day is dominated with economic transactions we have with other people, so to separate our faith from our status as an economic actor is to ignore a major reality of the world.

She then turned it on us, encouraging everyone to speak up and say “how are you called as an economic being?” The responses ranged from a 20-year-old trying to balance her passion for volunteering her time with the realities of needing to make money, to a recently-retired professional wondering what to do with the remaining third of his life (and how much money plays into that), to a homemaker who spoke up, saying as a non-breadwinner she felt ignored as an “economic being” but she felt, for her career, that she played the central role in her family’s economic life, to a man who, at the urging of his daughter, sold his house, moved into a house half the size, and gave half the proceeds from the sale to charity. By the time we got through introductions, I felt a powerful interweaving of our faith and economic realities in the room.

But to what end? We discussed the various ways we personally, and as people of faith, use our own resources, and those of intermediaries, to explore God’s economy. A few of us from my church talked about a micro-loan program we’ve developed as part of our church’s mission budget–pragmatically, because an investment can help a cash-strapped church get more out of its resources, and spiritually, because an investment in another person sets up a relationship that we think reflect how God meant us to live together. Others talked about structural decisions (sitting on the finance committee of a big church) and personal (how much should I give and to where?) In the end, the evening engaged a wonderful group of people in a critical, difficult topic that left us all with ideas of what to do next.

Taste of SoCap – Chi-Ming Chien’s Reflections

Reflections from Chi-Ming Chien from his AtThe Corner of Church and Markets blog – check it out: http://churchandmarket.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/taste-of-socap/
http://churchandmarket.wordpress.com/

I just got back from SOCAP11. The SOCAP conference is a gathering of people dedicated to “the flow of capital toward the social good”. Groups ranging from social enterprises like Kiva to venture philanthropy funders like REDF (one of Dayspring’s clients) to sustainable, green startups and all range of folks in between gather for a 3 day conference each year. This year’s topic was the intersection of money and meaning–which appeared to be license to talk about pretty much anything.

I’d never been (and frankly never heard about it before, despite it apparently being one of the largest gatherings in the space). But I heard about it through my friend Craig Wong, the Executive Director of Grace Urban Ministries. He had gotten an invitation forwarded by a mutual friend and professor at Point Loma Nazarene college. And so it goes.

Criterion Ventures arranged for various “faith leaders” to attend a half-day of the conference as a part of their initiative to gather people around the topic of “Church as Economic Being”. Now, I don’t particularly consider myself a “faith leader”, but I was intrigued to see what people were talking about and they were gracious enough to let me tag along. Since I’ve been somewhat connected to the social enterprise space as a result of Dayspring’s work with REDF, ImagineNations and Micromentor, it was an opportunity to enter their world as well as see what, in particular, other Christians are talking about at the “intersection of money and meaning”.

In fact, the conference title gave me a bit of a kick to start this blog. I’ve been tossing around the idea of “At the Corner of Church and Market” for a number of years as a way to summarize what we’ve been about with Dayspring–our modest experiment in “Christians in the marketplace”–and I thought I better stake my claim to the title. The “intersection of money and meaning” was getting a bit too close. OK, maybe not.

I only attended for a half-day–a panel on “Spirituality and Social Enterprise: What’s Your Motivation?”, a lunch gathering with other people gathered by Criterion, an afternoon talk presented by Jed Emerson and Antony Bugg-Levine about “impact investing”, and then the evening plenary. It was intriguing. And it also raises questions.

If the question is “what does it look like for the church to engage in the marketplace?”, I’ve mostly been having the conversation firmly rooted from the perspective of the Church. Dayspring was started by church members and funded completely from members of my local congregation. I was on the planning committee for the Ekklesia Project’s Gathering in 2009 on “Wealth and the Household of God”, exploring wealth, poverty, economics and the church. My starting place is that, as the church, you need to have a good sense of what the church is to be about as a community called to bear witness to God’s new reality. I start with a default suspicion of “the Market” as one of those powers and principalities that was created good, but which, in its present incarnation, on balance manifests its fallen nature much more often than not.

But, nevertheless, it was interesting to drop in on the conversation starting from the other end. The people gathered at SOCAP “believe in” the market. Or paraphrasingSal Giambanco, from the Omidyar Network, “we’re strong believers in the market, but also recognize that there are market failures, which is why we invest in both for-profits and non-profits.” At SOCAP, people are all about “scale”, “sustainability”, “impact”, and “systemic change”–in short, making things happen.

At base, I don’t have a problem with capitalism per se, in its limited definition as “the private ownership of the means of production”. I guess, to be more accurate, I don’t have a problem at least as long as you grant that, in a Christian understanding, God maintains ultimate ownership (which was always Israel’s basic understanding and which you also see in the Acts church) and you therefore translate “ownership” to mean stewardship (and real stewardship at that, not a flimsy excuse for hoarding). I think that people owning and being responsible for stuff is a good thing–it can lead to a proper care and proper use of it.

However, bare-naked capitalism as it seems to be practiced–with Adam Smith’s invisible hand supposedly guiding the individual pursuit of self-interest toward the maximal collective good–seems hopelessly naive and doesn’t take into account basic human fallen-ness. And, I’m also a bit suspicious of the whole “scale” and “systemic change” angle. I suppose two reasons for my discomfort have to do with what I see in the scriptures as an emphasis on simple faithfulness and what I take in John’s epistle to be a warning against abstraction (“For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” 1 John 4:20).

It seems to me that scale and systemic change can often result in people not seeingpeople for people but just for systems that ought to be changed in some grand theoretical sweep. And I think that the Incarnation calls Christians to live at the ground level.

And yet, I’m intrigued by the clear passion of the people that I’ve met. I’m intrigued by the idea that real change can be effected. There’s something here, I think.

Education Processes for People in the Pews

• How do we talk about money in the church?
• What makes it so hard (Why is it easier to talk about sex than money?)
• What education / engagement processes have worked for people in the pews?
• How does this build on or differ from formation for generosity, stewardship language, lessons and processes?
• Where are the most “ripe” places to start?
• What is the potential – in our wildest dreams what do we imagine?

Sunday school – the term engenders unique childhood imageries for any adult who was raised in a local parish.  Every church has a history and tradition for teaching children, youth and adults the essentials of the faith.  Publishing houses with curriculums, pamphlets, workbooks and training manuals.  Hundreds of lay and ordained staff persons devoted to Christian education. Much theology has been translated from the esoteric language of seminary scholars to concepts that are digestible by elementary school children.

When it comes to talking and teaching about money in the church, however, Christian education has not done well.  Relegated to the arena of giving -and arguably, for good reason – teaching on money has not equipped parishioners to understand the role of faith in the global economy.  As the economic order has boomed in complexity in recent decades, the church has struggled to talk about money – and about money aligned with mission.  While the world of economics and finance has been willing to use biblical language absent divine intent (fiduciary, faith & trust, fidelity, etc.) the church has been willing to be altogether devoid of economic talk.  The result is an institutional church with a significant footprint in the global economy, with virtually no voice in how the economy functions (or fails to function for billions of people in poverty).

Imagine a church that is fully engaged in education about faith and finance not only for Sunday school, but for every day of the week.  What are the possibilities for the church to collaborate with alternative thinkers in the social capital markets to design curriculums around money and meaning?  What if the church combined teaching on “stewardship” with education on “impact investing”?  What if church publishing houses invested their considerable resources in publishing books, pamphlets and curriculums on mission and money?  How might the economy be impacted if millions of parishioners in the pews were as knowledgeable about the economy as they are about matters of faith?

Social Entrepreneurs and their Worshiping Communities

• What enables early stage enterprises and entrepreneurs to start well?
• What of that can churches provide?
• How do we develop community – around and among entrepreneurs?
• How do we support entrepreneurs in worshiping communities?

A pastor in Seattle with the desire to do ministry in new ways envisions a new church business model built around sustainable enterprises.  A church in New York creates a ministry to serve, inspire and equip emerging social entrepreneurs.  Successful business executives entering retirement from corporate finance now are eager to use their knowledge and experience to advance the mission of the church.  Across the country, social entrepreneurs, enlivened by Christian faith, are beginning to see the church as a place of opportunity to nourish and support ventures that have tremendous potential for social good.

Yet the nexus of inspiration and opportunity can sometimes appear to be a place of great difficulty and challenge.  There is no template for the church as a social enterprise.  The entrepreneur may find spiritual fulfillment in affiliation with a local church, but typically will not find help with a business plan or ideas on attracting an investor.  A retired titan of industry is not likely to be motivated by heading the annual stewardship campaign.

Leadership must take on the task of turning embers of inspiration to raging fires of accomplishment.  New church starts are so rare in many denominational settings that judicatory officials should embrace the opportunity to enable communities to try new ways to worship and serve.   Opportunities for retired business execs may be limited at the local parish, but their talents may be well used at the regional, denominational, or systems level of the church.  And yes, that New York church has found a way to inspire and minister to hundreds of Christian entrepreneurs, equipping them to be successful in business and making it possible for them to take church mission to a previously unattainable level of achievement.

The church may not only be a good place, but perhaps the best place for social entrepreneurship to take root and thrive.

Post written by: Patrick Duggan.

Seminaries as Implicated and Actor in the Economy

• What are the possibilities and the challenges around the business model of seminaries?
• What is the role of seminaries – and how is this changing?
• What are the assets of seminaries which make them relevant to the church and the economy?
• How would seminaries re-form to be more relevant?
• What role could seminaries play in educating businesses, social enterprises and their leaders?
• What would surprise and delight you to hear about a seminary?

Like many institutions that have endured for many decades, a century, or more, seminaries are faced with all of the challenges of postmodernism combined with the sea change in the American church. Like secular universities and colleges in the United States, seminaries have campuses, buildings, and other aging assets, long term (expensive) faculty and staff, and declining enrollments. And as a part of the church world, they face the same crisis of relevance in today’s culture.

In an interesting twist of fate, seminaries and the church – _long-time partners and collaborators in mission -_ view one another with increasing wariness. Denominations are finding it nearly impossible to identify candidates for ordained ministry to recommend for seminary enrollment. Local parishes are questioning the value of a seminary education to equip ordained leadership for ministry today. Seminaries, observing the long-term decline of mainline congregations, are forced to consider ways to prepare students for a world with many fewer congregations. This all translates into tremendous pressure on the institutional stability and sustainability of seminaries. How must seminary trustees and presidents run institutions with smaller enrollments, dwindling sources of revenue, increasing questions about mission and purpose, and weakening networks of support?

Like other businesses faced with life-threatening challenges, seminaries must take stock of internal resources, assess with clarity external forces, and set goals and objectives that are mindful. Perhaps seminaries are not outdated institutions facing extinction, but neglected enterprises with pent up value waiting to be tapped. With highly trained and educated expert faculty, facilities, technology and endowments, seminaries have an array of assets that may be reconfigured to equip individuals and organizations that are positioned to thrive in this transformational era.

Post written by: Patrick Duggan

Structures and Systems Emerging from the Awakening (About the Economy)

• What signs can we name that the church world and the world of social capital markets (defined broadly) are awakening to new possibilities in the space where the two connect?
• What products or systems will be re-birthed?  What indications are there of entirely new systems and structures emerging?
• What kinds of adjustments/changes/initiatives should seminaries, business schools, schools of philanthropy, and other higher education institutions think about to lean into this awakening?  What examples, models are out there that demonstrate responsiveness to this awakening?
• How is the world of business/finance/capital responding to this phenomenon?  Ahead of or behind the curve?  What models, steps demonstrate either?
• How should denominations, congregations, Christian social entrepreneurs, other church organizations and individuals engage this awakening?  What models are out there?
• How would cross-sector collaborations impact the ability of institutions, organizations, businesses, intermediaries to take full advantage of this awakening?
• In your reading of the signs, who is/which organizations and/or entities are best positioned to benefit from this awakening? Most likely to be casualties?

 

In times of peace and economic prosperity, it was possible to forecast, with some measure of certainty, the growth and development of societal institutions. The current times of dramatic, epochal change are inherently unknowable. Not only are institutions, traditions, and norms changing, so are the ways we measure.  The tools that we used to forecast a direction in previous times are no longer effective.  It is difficult to know with certainty the extent to which the church will embrace its role and power in the economy. 

 

In the midst of unprecedented change, however, it may be possible to discern some of the possibilities of the future church.  Much has been written on ways the mainline church is declining; the steady loss of members, the decline in revenues from giving, shrinking denominational staffs, church closures.  Still more has been written on institutional turmoil.  The lesser known story is the continuing dominance of Christianity as the religion of choice in the United States and in the world, and the still growing number of Christians globally.  Or the growing numbers Christians in denominations outside of the so-called mainline.

 

As the church world and the social capital markets reach across sectoral boundaries, new systems and structures are likely to emerge.  Mission programs of denominations may embrace the rigor and metrics-driven approach of successful social entrepreneurship.  Denominational bodies, already positioned as the nerve center of congregational and church institutional networks, may become powerful intermediaries that wield financial and technical resources globally.  Seminaries may become centers of excellence for church thought leaders, centers of collaboration and experimentation for mission-focused enterprises, and laboratories for new models of church in the world.  New church starts may be launched as turnkey franchise operations using successful techniques from the best of social entrepreneurship.  As the business and finance sector embraces metrics that measure environmental and social impact with the intensity of measuring and yielding profits, the church may embrace best practices from sustainable enterprises to measure and grow the numbers of followers and transformed lives.

 

Jesus said ‘where two or three are gathered, I will be in the midst’.  The way forward for the church to stand boldly in its 21^st century economic power is likely to come through the collaboration of unusual partners; business schools with seminaries, theologians with economists, seminary graduates with MBA’s, denominations with community bankers, seminaries with business enterprises, churches with social enterprises and, more broadly, church and the social capital markets.  The organizations and institutions that face today’s uncertainty with resolve and intent will emerge with a testimony on the other side of tomorrow.

Post written by: Patrick Duggan

Elizabeth Drescher asks in Essay, “What Role Should Churches Play in Economic Change?”

Risky Business: The Pitfalls at the Corner of Church and Wall Street:What Role Should Churches Play in Economic Change? 

In Elizabeth Drescher’s essay in the (A)theologies section of Religion Dispatches, she interviews Joy Anderson, Founder of Criterion Ventures and head of the Church as an Economic Being initiative. Read some of Joy’s thoughts on the role of churches in shaping markets below – read the full article here:

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/atheologies/5141/risky_business:_the_pitfalls_at_the_corner_of_church_&_wall_street_

Protestant Work Ethic 2.0

Joy Anderson, founder of Criterion Ventures (and a principal, with Freundlich, in Jones’ Good Capital investment firm), believes that churches can and should be active economic agents. Anderson notes that, without doing anything at all in terms of mission-driven economic initiative, churches are “economic beings”—passive and active aggregators and redistributors of capital. Like it or not, she argues, they participate in the global economic network every time someone turns on the lights in the sanctuary.

Multiply that by 300,000, and it’s easy to see why the economic impact of churches is a substantial, if unrecognized, force in the overall well-being of the communities in which they are located and in the broader economy. Indeed, University of Pennsylvania researcher Ram Cnaan has shown that a modest-sized urban congregation contributes upwards of half a million dollars in economic value to its community in the form of direct services, real capital investments (the new roof over the sacristy), education, and less-easily quantified benefits like preventing crime, youth and domestic violence, and suicide.

Anderson insists that churches’ investment in, for example, local business incubators, community agriculture programs, charter schools, and so on is “not just about participating in the economy per se. It’s about, by participating, changing the nature of the economy, changing the nature of the marketplace.” One such change, we might assume, would be market participation not based, as in the classic models of capitalism, solely on competitive self-interest, but rather on what Kathryn D. Blanchard calls “sympathetic self-interest”—self-interest based on morally-grounded measures of extrinsic (read: “material/financial”) and intrinsic (read: “spiritual/social”) satisfaction yielded from earnings from business practices characterized by respect for workers, care for the environment, equity in compensation, conscientious reinvestment, and so on.